Last update: December 5, 2015

Answers for a few users’ questions, troubleshooting, and requests for clarifications.

Q: Problem with “Same as Previous” values in headers. You say that it’s important that the headers and footers in chapter 2 [of the manuscript] all have the “Same as Previous” values set for headers and footers. Those are not set in my book, but when I click on the “link to previous” in the header, it deletes my header.

A: It’s not “deleting” it — Word is matching the content of the header in the previous section.

Chapter 1 starting page, first left page, and first right page should NOT have “Same as Previous” set, because the headers for chapters are different from those in front matter.

After Chapter 1 headers and footers are set properly, then add the section break for Chapter 2. With your cursor anywhere in Chapter 2, then set “Same as Previous” for all headers and footers in that section. If that’s not working, then the headers still aren’t defined properly in Chapter 1.  Here’s my best guess about how this problem situation might occur.

1. “Same as Previous” was set in Chapter 1. You changed the headers to be what you want.
2. You then noticed that headers appeared where they didn’t belong in the front matter, so you deleted those.
3. You went to chapter 2 and set “Same as Previous”. But Chapter 1 headers are now gone too, because they now match the front matter.

You need to set the headers and footers in this series of steps:

1. Front matter has no headers. It might have footers with roman page numbers for some sections, but most of Front Matter doesn’t have page numbers.
2. Section Break for Chapter 1 is “Start on Right”. In all headers and footers, “Link to Previous” is OFF.
3. Set the header and footer content for the first page, right page, and left page.
4. Set page number to “1” on first page.
5. Add the section break for Chapter 2. In Chapter 2, all headers and footers have “Link to Previous” ON.
   Check that page number on first page of Chapter 2 is set to “Continuous.”
6. When you add a section break for Chapter 3 and onward, they will automatically inherit Chapter 2 settings—which is what you want.

Q: My headers do not have “Same as Previous” set in subsequent chapters; however, the headers on both pages appear correct. Is it okay if I don’t use “Same as Previous”?

A: They must have been set manually then. (I can’t tell without seeing the file.) This is fine … except if you change your mind about the content of the headers, then you have to change all of them manually.

Q:. Web instructions on how to clean up a Word file in preparation for POD said that you should convert all double spaces to single spaces and all double paragraphs to single paragraphs. But what if I want to leave a blank line between sections? That is a double paragraph, and if I convert it, I lose the blank line between sections.

A: Insert a blank paragraph with one space in it. Some designers place art or a character such as an asterisk for the blanks between scenes. That way, the section spacing isn’t lost to the reader when there’s a page break at the space.

Q: I’m having some difficulties with the Heading 1 style. It’s supposed to have 60 pt before, but sometimes it moves up to the top of the page unless I insert an extra paragraph before.

A: How Word handles the “space before” for a heading at a page break seems to change with new versions of Word. To manager this, I place a Normal paragraph after the section break and before the H1 heading That extra Normal paragraph following the section break also makes it easier to move text, and it protects against any automatic removal of space that Word might make at page breaks.

Q: I noticed that the text of my book starts on a page that is numbered 11 in your template, but it is actually only the ninth page.

A: There are blank verso pages created by the “Start on Right” section breaks. These blank pages aren’t displayed in Word. However, when you create a PDF, you’ll see the blank pages.